How To Protect Your House (and Your Family) From Black Bears

26Dec

How To Protect Your House (and Your Family) From Black Bears

“If we can keep a bear out, we can keep anybody out of the house” – Bill Hughes

This is one saying that can not be anymore true, especially in the country of Virginia where bears live alongside people. One of the biggest problems in this area are the black bears. You may think that black bears are harmless but according to statistics, black bears kill more people year after year than grizzly bears.

This is why one of the things that Virginia residents should think about is how to keep black bears away from them home. To do this, you must understand the fact that the main reason why bears wander in your neighborhood is because they are looking for food. That is the very reason why the encounter between human and bears arise during the hyperphagia. This is a season wherein the black bears bulk up for hibernation. This happens during late summer or early fall wherein the bears need to consume about 20, 000 calories a day.

If you live in a bear-infested neighborhood, do not fret. There are actually lots of things that you can do to protect your property and loved ones from the attack of these nuisance bears. Here are some of the tips that you must know about:

Remove tree limbs near your home.If there is one thing that you should know about black bears, it is the fact that they are great climbers so one thing that you can do to protect your home is to remove any tree branches near your house. In this way, the bears will not be able to gain access to your upper level decks and windows.

Replace your knobs.There are some door knobs that black bears can open and close and those are the level-style door handles. This is because the bears can just easily push or pull these doors open. For your exterior doors, it is recommended that you use round door knobs. Bears will have problems pulling or pushing this type of door knobs open.

Keep your yard clean.As mentioned above, the main reason why black bears invade houses is because they are looking for food. In order to keep them away, you must keep your yard clean at all times. Bears have the ability to smell food up to five miles away and they can just simply follow the smell of food so avoid leaving trash out overnight. In addition to that, you must avoid storing any type of food under your deck, in your garage or in a flimsy shed.

Install window bars.As mentioned above, it is easy for bears to just simply push windows open. Because of this, it would be wise if you will install window bars to prevent the bears from coming inside your home. These bars will certainly keep both burglars and bears out of your home.

There is a man in Clarksville, GA ( in North Georgia Hills next to a forest reserve) who has experienced many black bear attacks for the past few years. He recently did the tips mentioned above to keep Black Bears out of his home and he has not yet seen a bear again since then.